HOLIDAY happiness lasts up to six weeks after we get home, according to a study.
Researchers found our good mood remains for as long as 43 days — more than double the 21 days that experts previously thought.
It means regular breaks from work are key to easing stress and returning fully-refreshed.
The US research analysed data from 32 previous studies that tracked people’s wellbeing before and after a holiday from work.
It found they took more than six weeks to return to usual stress levels — double the three weeks recorded previously.
No specific type of holiday was best but people were happier if they could disconnect from work and do physical activities such as hiking, sightseeing or snorkelling.
Longer breaks were typically more relaxing but the benefits recorded afterwards dropped off more steeply.
Study author Ryan Grant, a PhD student at the University of Georgia, said: “Vacations create longer-lasting benefits than previously thought.
“Job demands and job stress are on the rise but people think that they can’t take time off because they don’t want to look bad or lose out on an opportunity for promotion.
“We think working more is better, but we actually perform better by taking care of ourselves.
“We need to break up these intense periods of work with intense periods of rest and recuperation.”
Writing in the Journal of Applied Psychology, he said of holiday highs: “The decrease is not as steep and fleeting as previously thought.
“If you’re not at work but you’re thinking about work on vacation, you might as well be at the office.
“Vacations are one of the few opportunities we get to fully just disconnect from work.”
Most full-time employees in the UK are entitled to 28 days of annual leave per year.
Brits go abroad a combined 86million times a year and millions of us also take staycations at home.
Our favourite destinations for a foreign holiday, according to the Office for National Statistics, are Spain, France, Italy and Greece.
